According to breaking reports, Nepal is collecting data on Tibetans living in the country to curb anti China activities. Since Nepal is the main transit for Tibetans fleeing from Tibet to exile, the new effort from the Himalayan country aims to control new entry of Tibetans to the country.
While there around half a dozen of Tibetan refugee settlements in Nepal, the country had stopped accepting additional Tibetan refugees in 1989, and then stopped issuing refugee cards to Tibetans in 1995 under pressure from China to deny them any sort of legal status.
The news of Nepal collecting Tibetans data was reported by English Edition of Online Khabar on Tuesday that the government has begun collecting details of them and recording them in a software, not to register them but to control the entry of new Tibetan refugees into Nepal and their anti China activities.
With growing influence from China, Nepal restricts the political freedoms of Tibetan refugees living in the country. It subjects the Tibetans to abuse and harassment by the security forces, and spies on them for Chinese officials. The UN Human Rights Committee has also urged Nepal to register long staying Tibetans and ensure that all Tibetans who may have a valid refugee claim are guaranteed access to Nepali territory.
In an estimate, it is quoted that there are around 14,000 Tibetan refugees living in the country. Since the 60th Anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day is approaching on March 10, it can be concluded that the Nepali government is heeding to Chinese pressure to restrict Tibetans from making any demonstration against China, as it has been doing so for the past many years now.
Image: AP/Niranjan Shrestha
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